San Francisco 49ers head coaches Kyle Shanahan and Bill Walsh
Stephen Lam and Deanne Fitzmaurice/S.F. Chronicle
When Kyle Shanahan spoke at his introductory news conference on Feb. 9, 2017, the San Francisco 49ers head coach was the second-youngest among his NFL peers.
He looked the part, with jet-black hair and a stubble-free face. If the 37-year-old had a wrinkle, it was on his suit. Earlier this month, however, Shanahan, now in his 10th season with the 49ers, acknowledged the toll his tenure has taken: He’s now closer to grizzled than boyish.
“I look like I’ve aged 10 years,” Shanahan said. “Because I, physically, have aged 10 years.”
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Yes, Shanahan caught himself. He hasn’t aged any more than any of us since 2017, but we get it. The high-pressure grind helps explain all the gray that’s now in Shanahan’s hair, the lines of his face, the occasional bags under his eyes and why bettors might take the over on his age — he’s 46 — when he’s sporting his salt-and-pepper beard.
Shanahan’s extended time in a demanding role, along with his first foray into broadcasting in February, invited a rare question about his career plans during the recent NFL owners’ meetings in Phoenix.
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Shanahan and the Rams’ Sean McVay are the league’s second-longest tenured head coaches, and Shanahan will match Bill Walsh as the longest-tenured 49ers head coach if he finishes his 10th season with the team in 2026. For Walsh, of course, a decade was his limit. At 57, he left the NFL after a Super Bowl win in January 1989, drained by the job. Walsh’s son, Craig, once described his dad at the end as a teddy bear without the stuffing, saying “there was nothing left.”
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Even McVay, 40, considered stepping away three years ago because he felt burned out. But Shanahan hasn’t entertained similar thoughts. And he can’t see an end in sight. Asked how much longer he intends to stay in Santa Clara, Shanahan said he planned to remain with the 49ers “as long as they’ll have me.”
“I love coaching,” Shanahan said.
“I still feel good. My family still loves it. I think they would kill me if I was home a lot more. So we’ve got a good balance. And I love being with the Niners,” he added.
The feeling is mutual. Owner Jed York, who said Shanahan is signed through 2028, doesn’t see an expiration date.
“I want Kyle to be here for a long time,” York said. “He’s been here for a long time. I want him to be here even longer.”
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As Shanahan’s critics would quickly note, he’s not Walsh: Shanahan is 0-2 in Super Bowls with the 49ers after Walsh went 3-0. However, Shanahan’s other differences from his Hall of Fame predecessor provide perspective on why he appears destined to pass Walsh in terms of tenure with the franchise and keep on going.
Despite his massive role in creating an NFL dynasty, Walsh once wrote that he was a “tortured person” because he “felt failure so personally.” Shanahan is built differently due to his background, which has played a role in allowing him to navigate his tortured big-game history with less-than-expected scarring.
Shanahan is 0-3 in Super Bowls as a head coach and offensive coordinator, a record he mentioned without prompting when he served as an NBC pregame analyst for Super Bowl LX in February. Unlike Walsh, who was consumed by lesser losses, Shanahan can view his record through an optimistic lens. His father, Mike, also lost his first three Super Bowls before finishing his career 3-0.
“I’ve got my three losses out of the way,” Shanahan joked on the broadcast.
Walsh’s insecurities and demons were exacerbated by the title-or-bust expectations of combustible owner Eddie DeBartolo Jr., who threatened to fire his head coach on multiple occasions during Walsh’s 92-59-1 tenure. DeBartolo stripped Walsh of his president title after an upset divisional-playoff loss in Walsh’s penultimate season.
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In contrast, York has become less like his uncle since Shanahan became his fourth head coach in 26 months in 2017. When Shanahan and general manager John Lynch were hired, York said “the future of this franchise will be constructed from their vision.”
More than nine years later, York recently explained that his trust in Shanahan and Lynch is a reason he has been able to maintain his more hands-off approach. York wasn’t aware the 49ers had signed wide receiver Christian Kirk, who could have a prominent role this season, until nearly two weeks after Kirk was added last month.
“I have immense trust and faith in those guys,” York said.
Shanahan, whose nine playoff wins with the 49ers are one shy of tying Walsh and George Seifert for the top spot, has a job that has been marked by success and autonomy.
Still, Shanahan’s impressive NBC cameo at least raised questions about his potential desire to get into broadcasting on a full-time basis. Shanahan laughed at the idea. And York offered that Shanahan “would hate that so much.”
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And that’s because if Shanahan isn’t an NFL lifer, he has plenty of life left in his current career. He still loves what he’s doing. And that includes the parts of the job that don’t involve the X’s and O’s for which he’s known as one of the NFL’s top offensive play-callers. As early as junior high, Shanahan was fascinated by roster construction and would regularly grill his dad over dinner about possible free-agent signings or draft picks.
“I’ve just always thought this way — it’s what I enjoy about football,” Shanahan said in 2018, adding that he’d been “waiting to be a head coach my whole life” before he was hired by the 49ers.
In his first public moments as an NFL head coach, Shanahan offered clues about his future. He didn’t have hobbies and he wasn’t particularly complicated, he explained a few sentences into his opening remarks at his introductory news conference. Nearly a decade later, Shanahan looks different. If asked about his interests, though, it’s safe to say he’d sound the same.
“There’s really two things that are important to me — and that’s my family and that’s football,” Shanahan said. “And that’s really all the things I think about. As sad as that is, it’s true.”